Record-Journal
11-22-2007, 11:44 PM
MERIDEN — The feud’s getting nasty and now the court’s involved.
More than one year after the City Council approved the sale of 57-65 W. Main St. and 55 Grove St. to Ross Gulino, a local developer, he and the Castle Craig Players are still at odds.
As a condition of the sale, Gulino and the theater company were required to negotiate a long-term lease that would allow the players to keep their performance space at 57-59 W. Main St. rent free.
The two sides agreed on lease terms earlier this year, but Gulino hasn’t signed the document because of an ongoing feud over the adjacent “red room,” a storefront at 61 W. Main St. the theater has been using as a reception area.
Gulino found a tenant who wanted to occupy the space Sept. 1, but the theater group hasn’t moved out yet and says it needs until the end of the year.
That’s not quick enough for Gulino, who is now suing to evict the players from both the red room and the theater space.
“It’s one stall tactic after another, and I’m fed up,” said Gulino, who bought the properties from the city for $50,000 on the condition that he renovate the buildings and create 12 artist lofts above the West Main Street storefronts. Warren Stephan, players’ president and founder “is not showing me any good faith that he wants to remain in relationship with me. I’ve been patient. What else can I do?”
Stephan could not be reached for comment.
Gulino’s attorney, Dennis Ceneviva, filed the eviction suit in Meriden Superior Court Nov. 15 after sending the players an order to leave the building Oct. 18.
But Michael Del Sole, Stephan’s son-in-law and the players’ attorney, said Gulino’s the one who’s being difficult.
“If he was acting in good faith, why (is) he trying to evict us from the theater?” Del Sole asked.
Del Sole said Gulino sent a letter Sept. 14 demanding the players vacate the red room by the following Monday.
Just two weeks earlier, Del Sole said he and Gulino were still discussing the possibility of the group leasing the space.
“Up until that point, there was no indication there was another tenant,” Del Sole said. If the group had known, “we would have begun to do now what we’re doing, which is to make alternative plans.”
The players have hired a contractor to install the second bathroom, and plan to move items from the red room into the theater once the production of the musical “Nuncrackers” finishes Dec. 16.
“We’ve explained to him how the organization works and how it doesn’t work,” Del Sole said. In response to the September letter,
“I said ‘we’re in the middle of a show and all of the company’s efforts are being devoted to the show. This is what our timetable is going to be -- we’re trying to get the bathroom done and brick up the wall (between the theater and red room) by the end of this year. But that’s not good enough because he wants you to do something yesterday.”
Del Sole said he understands Gulino is losing money on the red room, but he “find(s) it ridiculous that somehow the organization is the villain in this process” because Gulino didn’t give them enough notice.
Gulino and his potential tenant, Eva Gryczan, don’t buy that argument.
Gryczan said she approached Gulino in late July with plans to open a Polish imports store and deli at 61 W. Main St. She also offered to keep the store open on performance nights to allow theater patrons to use the restroom.
But Del Sole said the group rejected her offer for two reasons – the smell of the deli wafting into the theater and the potential loss of profits from candy and drink sales at intermission.
“Have you ever gone to a theater and smelled Polish deli coming through the doorway?” Del Sole asked. “Our candy and cookie sales would be wiped out or in direct competition with the tenant. We run the theater on a shoestring budget as it is.”
Gryczan, however, said she’s so anxious to open her store that she would gladly refrain from selling items during shows.
“I’ve been talking to the Polish community, promising we’ll be open soon,” said Gryczan, whose family runs a similar store in New Britain. “People keep waiting and asking. It’s kind of hard for me not to be ready yet. Are they thinking I’m not serious enough?”
And Gryczan said there wouldn’t be a strong smell because she wouldn’t be cooking at the store.
She’s willing to wait until January, she said, but after that would have to find a new space. Meanwhile, the items she purchased, such as refrigerators and other equipment, are in storage.
The case could progress in housing court within about three weeks, Del Sole said.
He believes the players’ 15-year lease with the city is still valid because it was never formally terminated when the property was sold, despite language in the city’s sale contract with Gulino that said the group was on a month-to-month lease.
Ceneviva and Gulino said their agreement with the city is simply to lease 57-59 W. Main St. to a not-for-profit theater group, and that other groups might be interested if the players are forced to leave.
They are also questioning in court if the players’ non-profit status is intact.
Del Sole said it is, and that Gulino’s refusal to sign a long-term agreement with the group is preventing it from qualifying for grant money to improve the theater.
“We could do some very nice cosmetic changes to the theater itself if we could get this lease signed,” Del Sole said.
Local politicians and Staci Roy of the Meriden Arts Council said they hope the two sides will come together to resolve their differences.
“They put on six performances per year,” she said. “That’s a lot of theater. I would hate to see our main community group leaving that space."
More than one year after the City Council approved the sale of 57-65 W. Main St. and 55 Grove St. to Ross Gulino, a local developer, he and the Castle Craig Players are still at odds.
As a condition of the sale, Gulino and the theater company were required to negotiate a long-term lease that would allow the players to keep their performance space at 57-59 W. Main St. rent free.
The two sides agreed on lease terms earlier this year, but Gulino hasn’t signed the document because of an ongoing feud over the adjacent “red room,” a storefront at 61 W. Main St. the theater has been using as a reception area.
Gulino found a tenant who wanted to occupy the space Sept. 1, but the theater group hasn’t moved out yet and says it needs until the end of the year.
That’s not quick enough for Gulino, who is now suing to evict the players from both the red room and the theater space.
“It’s one stall tactic after another, and I’m fed up,” said Gulino, who bought the properties from the city for $50,000 on the condition that he renovate the buildings and create 12 artist lofts above the West Main Street storefronts. Warren Stephan, players’ president and founder “is not showing me any good faith that he wants to remain in relationship with me. I’ve been patient. What else can I do?”
Stephan could not be reached for comment.
Gulino’s attorney, Dennis Ceneviva, filed the eviction suit in Meriden Superior Court Nov. 15 after sending the players an order to leave the building Oct. 18.
But Michael Del Sole, Stephan’s son-in-law and the players’ attorney, said Gulino’s the one who’s being difficult.
“If he was acting in good faith, why (is) he trying to evict us from the theater?” Del Sole asked.
Del Sole said Gulino sent a letter Sept. 14 demanding the players vacate the red room by the following Monday.
Just two weeks earlier, Del Sole said he and Gulino were still discussing the possibility of the group leasing the space.
“Up until that point, there was no indication there was another tenant,” Del Sole said. If the group had known, “we would have begun to do now what we’re doing, which is to make alternative plans.”
The players have hired a contractor to install the second bathroom, and plan to move items from the red room into the theater once the production of the musical “Nuncrackers” finishes Dec. 16.
“We’ve explained to him how the organization works and how it doesn’t work,” Del Sole said. In response to the September letter,
“I said ‘we’re in the middle of a show and all of the company’s efforts are being devoted to the show. This is what our timetable is going to be -- we’re trying to get the bathroom done and brick up the wall (between the theater and red room) by the end of this year. But that’s not good enough because he wants you to do something yesterday.”
Del Sole said he understands Gulino is losing money on the red room, but he “find(s) it ridiculous that somehow the organization is the villain in this process” because Gulino didn’t give them enough notice.
Gulino and his potential tenant, Eva Gryczan, don’t buy that argument.
Gryczan said she approached Gulino in late July with plans to open a Polish imports store and deli at 61 W. Main St. She also offered to keep the store open on performance nights to allow theater patrons to use the restroom.
But Del Sole said the group rejected her offer for two reasons – the smell of the deli wafting into the theater and the potential loss of profits from candy and drink sales at intermission.
“Have you ever gone to a theater and smelled Polish deli coming through the doorway?” Del Sole asked. “Our candy and cookie sales would be wiped out or in direct competition with the tenant. We run the theater on a shoestring budget as it is.”
Gryczan, however, said she’s so anxious to open her store that she would gladly refrain from selling items during shows.
“I’ve been talking to the Polish community, promising we’ll be open soon,” said Gryczan, whose family runs a similar store in New Britain. “People keep waiting and asking. It’s kind of hard for me not to be ready yet. Are they thinking I’m not serious enough?”
And Gryczan said there wouldn’t be a strong smell because she wouldn’t be cooking at the store.
She’s willing to wait until January, she said, but after that would have to find a new space. Meanwhile, the items she purchased, such as refrigerators and other equipment, are in storage.
The case could progress in housing court within about three weeks, Del Sole said.
He believes the players’ 15-year lease with the city is still valid because it was never formally terminated when the property was sold, despite language in the city’s sale contract with Gulino that said the group was on a month-to-month lease.
Ceneviva and Gulino said their agreement with the city is simply to lease 57-59 W. Main St. to a not-for-profit theater group, and that other groups might be interested if the players are forced to leave.
They are also questioning in court if the players’ non-profit status is intact.
Del Sole said it is, and that Gulino’s refusal to sign a long-term agreement with the group is preventing it from qualifying for grant money to improve the theater.
“We could do some very nice cosmetic changes to the theater itself if we could get this lease signed,” Del Sole said.
Local politicians and Staci Roy of the Meriden Arts Council said they hope the two sides will come together to resolve their differences.
“They put on six performances per year,” she said. “That’s a lot of theater. I would hate to see our main community group leaving that space."